iain-king.com

LIKE many dads my coaching journey began through a burning desire to see my son Bruce learn the beauty of the game that had dominated my life.

Looking back now, 15 years on from the days when I first began to lay out the bibs and cones with East Kilbride Burgh United, I'm not sure if that was the right parental decision.

University student Bruce, thankfully, now works as an intern for the brilliant football tours firm Inspire Sport he first experienced as a player and maintains his love of what I now call soccer.

Yet coaching your own son is an emotionally draining process.

Fearful of accusations of favouritism you are often too hard on your own child, being honest it's not a route I would advise any aspiring coach to go down.

After working with both Jackton BC and East Kilbride BC together, though, my thirst for knowledge and love of the process of coaching grew every time I took the field.

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From Early Touches through to the UEFA A Licence I proudly walked from the pitch with in the summer of 2016 I am a product of the SFA's coaching pathway.

I listen to the criticism of the Scottish system, the flak that flies at the so-called Largs Mafia who allegedly ruin the game in my homeland.

The detractors are entitled to their opinions, however misinformed, all I know is that mentors like Donald Park, Jim Fleeting, John Robertson, Ritchie Wilson, Andy Gould and the rest played a huge role in my development.

The coaching CV, brilliantly crafted by the excellent Sport Careers, is featured elsewhere on iain-king.com.

From Jackton BC to North Toronto Nitros in 2017 through the troughs of disappointment and the peaks of achievement I've loved every moment.

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After the successes of Jackton BC and East Kilbride FC in those early years there is one foray into Europe that will always live with me.

Winning the Copenhagen Cup with the SYFA's West Region side in 2013 was an experience to savour.

Not solely for the thrill of seeing a Scottish side lift that trophy for the first time but more so for the confidence and belief it gave to players like Jack Purdue and Andrew Dallas.

They'd go on to sign for Morton and Rangers respectively and playing a small role in that is something to treasure.

So, yes, there have been some trophies along the way but I have learned that the biggest reward comes in watching a player you have helped develop reach their potential.

That to me is the essence of coaching.  

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At the age of 52, after all I have experienced as a journalist and a coach I hope I am starting to learn some crucial lessons here in Canada.

The first? The importance for any coach of learning how to manage UP. You are there to serve the club and the owners first and foremost, your ego becomes your enemy. I know that now.

The second?  Savour every second on the grass when you are teaching, educating, inspiring young players.

I have tried to bring that mantra with me ever since March 5, 2016 when one of my closest friends and coaching mentor Eddie Wolecki Black almost died on the dressing-room floor at Cowdenbeath's Central Park during the half-time interval of Airdrieonians' 3-1 win over the home team in the kingdom of Fife.

Even now I rail at the injustice of that day. As a rookie CEO of the Diamonds I made many mistakes but the best decision I ever influenced was bringing Eddie to the club.

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He had earned his spurs winning the University title for tiny Abertay, leading Lochee United to the Superleague title in the juniors, bossing Montrose, inspiring Academy players at Dundee United and then leading top womens side Glasgow City to the last eight of the Champions League, earning his UEFA Pro Licence. Not a bad CV.

Eddie's battle for life in those harrowing months after the massive stroke he suffered that afternoon have I hope defined the way I coach now at North Toronto Nitros in Canada.

I try each day to bury my ego, to cherish the chance I have been given to develop soccer players in a new homeland, in a different place at a superb club.

If at the end of it all I have learned to do that then the journey so far has been worth it.

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